Hi. Someone that I know has a 9-10 week old puppy. She and her husband have had animals before, but this boxer puppy is their first puppy. They have been having issues from day one - here are a couple examples:
"#1 - Last night husband came home and took a nap in the bedroom so the dog wasn't able to see him for about an hour. I could hear the dog thrashing around in the cage so I knew he thought that husband wasn't home. I came out to check on him and that dog had peed from one end of the crate to the other. On the pillow, the toy, the bone, everything. Also, from him jumping all around in it he got it all over the floor and the wall by the crate. When husband came out and the dog realized he was home he became a little angel again.
#2 - The clicker training is working just fine with husband. When he clicks the dog takes the treat and he really seems like he's starting to expect it. When I click and give him the treat he spits it out on the ground then eats it. He won't take it from my hand and eat it. I assume the clicker is useless with me.
#3 - This morning husband put the dogs food in the crate then acted like he was leaving to see how the dog would behave. When he came back into the room that dog had thrown food everywhere.
# 4 - I took him out this morning when I woke up and he went outside and peed. But I guess he saved some because he got in his crate and peed again. He doesn't do that to husband, just me.
I try to play with him but all he does is bite me. When he gets bored with that he goes and tries to pee on the rug. I can't even have a nice play time with this dog. When husband plays with him he plays nicely, he even fetches the toy and brings it back! "
They went to the vet yesterday and this is what the vet said:
"OMG it just gets worse and worse.
We took him to the vet today to have him checked because he came with this messed up little hair patch. We also wanted him checked for worms. So here's the chain of events:
The technician took him into the back for the worm test and when she brought him back she said he needed some serious training because he had an aggressive biting problem.
The vet came in and mentioned what the tech had said about the biting and told us that we needed to be more dominating over the dog. She held him to her chest and held his head against her saying that was a move of domination. Of course the dog didn't like this and was squirming. She then took him and flipped him on his back like a baby and held his head again. He went nuts. He started barking and growling. She told him NO and it just made him more mad. He bit and scratched at her until she finally just put him down. She then told husband to try it and when he did the dog also went nuts. He scratched him to the point of drawing blood.
The vet then said the Boxers are usually very docile animals and that his display of such aggressive behavior (coupled with the look in his eye she said was scary) meant that he was not a good dog. She said she would never have him in a home where there was (or would be) children. She said he was a lawsuit waiting to happen and that even if we trained him she would be concerned that he might snap later on. As in, he's playing with one of the kids and crosses the line between play and aggression and hurts them.
She then went on to say that she didn't recommend we invest any more money in the dog and either take him back to the breeder or have him put down! She sent us home and told us that we needed to think about what we were going to do. She didn't even charge for the visit or the test.
When we got him home we tried again to flip him over and he was perfect with husband. He's off and on with me, sometimes fighting, sometimes submitting.
I'm so torn on what to do now! We have an appointment with another vet tomorrow for a second opinion. It just concerns me so much. I've been worried all along about the future with the dog and now I have someone saying it's their professional opinion that he isn't the "kind of dog we need in the world".
What would you do if you were me? We could always take him to another vet and proceed with training but how long do we let this carry on? At what point do we say the training is a success or failure? What would you do if you had a vet telling you to put your animal down?"
I know that this is long, but this is such a terrible situation, I hope that some of you would have some suggestions. Thanks!!!!
"#1 - Last night husband came home and took a nap in the bedroom so the dog wasn't able to see him for about an hour. I could hear the dog thrashing around in the cage so I knew he thought that husband wasn't home. I came out to check on him and that dog had peed from one end of the crate to the other. On the pillow, the toy, the bone, everything. Also, from him jumping all around in it he got it all over the floor and the wall by the crate. When husband came out and the dog realized he was home he became a little angel again.
#2 - The clicker training is working just fine with husband. When he clicks the dog takes the treat and he really seems like he's starting to expect it. When I click and give him the treat he spits it out on the ground then eats it. He won't take it from my hand and eat it. I assume the clicker is useless with me.
#3 - This morning husband put the dogs food in the crate then acted like he was leaving to see how the dog would behave. When he came back into the room that dog had thrown food everywhere.
# 4 - I took him out this morning when I woke up and he went outside and peed. But I guess he saved some because he got in his crate and peed again. He doesn't do that to husband, just me.
I try to play with him but all he does is bite me. When he gets bored with that he goes and tries to pee on the rug. I can't even have a nice play time with this dog. When husband plays with him he plays nicely, he even fetches the toy and brings it back! "
They went to the vet yesterday and this is what the vet said:
"OMG it just gets worse and worse.
We took him to the vet today to have him checked because he came with this messed up little hair patch. We also wanted him checked for worms. So here's the chain of events:
The technician took him into the back for the worm test and when she brought him back she said he needed some serious training because he had an aggressive biting problem.
The vet came in and mentioned what the tech had said about the biting and told us that we needed to be more dominating over the dog. She held him to her chest and held his head against her saying that was a move of domination. Of course the dog didn't like this and was squirming. She then took him and flipped him on his back like a baby and held his head again. He went nuts. He started barking and growling. She told him NO and it just made him more mad. He bit and scratched at her until she finally just put him down. She then told husband to try it and when he did the dog also went nuts. He scratched him to the point of drawing blood.
The vet then said the Boxers are usually very docile animals and that his display of such aggressive behavior (coupled with the look in his eye she said was scary) meant that he was not a good dog. She said she would never have him in a home where there was (or would be) children. She said he was a lawsuit waiting to happen and that even if we trained him she would be concerned that he might snap later on. As in, he's playing with one of the kids and crosses the line between play and aggression and hurts them.
She then went on to say that she didn't recommend we invest any more money in the dog and either take him back to the breeder or have him put down! She sent us home and told us that we needed to think about what we were going to do. She didn't even charge for the visit or the test.
When we got him home we tried again to flip him over and he was perfect with husband. He's off and on with me, sometimes fighting, sometimes submitting.
I'm so torn on what to do now! We have an appointment with another vet tomorrow for a second opinion. It just concerns me so much. I've been worried all along about the future with the dog and now I have someone saying it's their professional opinion that he isn't the "kind of dog we need in the world".
What would you do if you were me? We could always take him to another vet and proceed with training but how long do we let this carry on? At what point do we say the training is a success or failure? What would you do if you had a vet telling you to put your animal down?"
I know that this is long, but this is such a terrible situation, I hope that some of you would have some suggestions. Thanks!!!!
Last edited:
